Redundancy in UK tech feels like it’s become ingrained in the culture of business.
Shifting priorities. Structural changes. Tech innovation.
Just three of the many reasons companies cite when they decide to pull the plug on… people.
And that last part is often lost when these very clinical decisions are made.
When I first started in recruitment 20 years ago, I’d barely come across a candidate who had been made redundant. Maybe 1 in 100. And almost always it was because the company had become insolvent.
That’s changed so much.
At Hirefinity, 55% of the people we placed in 2025 had been through a redundancy process in the previous 12 months. The year before, it was 65%.
Sadly, it’s becoming par for the course now.
Volatility in the tech sector is, in my view, here to stay. Businesses pivot faster, priorities shift quickly, and entire functions can be reshaped almost overnight.
Which makes one thing really important: take as many personal development opportunities as you can from every role you’re in.
New tools. New domains. New ways of working. New problems solved.
The more you build along the way, the stronger your position will be when you’re looking for work next time.
Employers who describe themselves as a ‘family’ – it’s not true. The brutal truth is, employees are more dispensable than they ever have been, and whilst culture is undoubtedly important to them, balance sheets are a bigger priority than ever before.
Yesterday I saw a candidate post that a recruiter told him: “Don’t say you were made redundant as they will assume you weren’t worth keeping around.”
I was genuinely horrified reading that.
Redundancy is not a reflection of someone’s value or capability. In most cases it’s simply budgets, strategy, or timing.
And in today’s market, it’s something a huge number of very talented people have experienced.
Pretending otherwise helps no one.
Focus on YOU, above all else!
#TechCareers #Redundancy #UKTech #Hiring #QualityEngineering